Display Slideshows on Your TV

Photosgraph albums look beautiful on a big screen — at family gatherings, in waiting rooms, or playing quietly through dinner. Here's how to get yours up there, whatever kind of TV you have.

In this guide

The easy way
Roku
Apple TV
Chromecast / Google TV
Fire TV / Fire Stick
Samsung Smart TV
LG Smart TV
Vizio, Sony, Hisense & others
Older / non-smart TVs
Tips for a great display
Troubleshooting

The easy way (most TVs)

If your TV has a web browser — most Samsung, LG, Fire TV, Hisense, and many newer Vizio and Sony sets do — Photosgraph has a built-in TV mode that turns the screen into a slideshow display. Your phone becomes the remote. No app to install, no cables, no quality loss.

How TV mode works

On your TV, open the web browser and visit
https://photosgraph.com/tv.php
The TV will display a 6-character code.
On your phone, open any album and tap Cast to TV.
Type in the code from your TV. Tap Start Slideshow on TV.
That's it — the album starts playing. Use your phone to skip, pause, change speed, or stop casting.

Codes refresh every ten minutes if no one uses them — so it's safe to leave the pairing screen sitting on the TV between sessions. Once you're paired, the connection lasts up to eight hours; after that the TV asks for a fresh code.

Don't have a browser on your TV?

No problem — every section below covers the manual options for TVs without browsers (Roku, Apple TV, older sets) or for people who prefer mirroring their phone or laptop.

By TV type

Find your TV below for the cleanest path to a slideshow on the big screen.

Roku

Mirror

Roku doesn't ship with a real web browser, so the simplest path is screen mirroring: cast your phone, tablet, or laptop to the Roku and let it relay the slideshow.

From an iPhone or iPad (most Roku models from 2020 onward support AirPlay):

Make sure your Roku and phone are on the same Wi-Fi network.
On the Roku: Settings → Apple AirPlay and HomeKit → AirPlay → On.
Open Photosgraph in Safari, navigate to your album, tap Slideshow.
Open Control Center on your phone → tap Screen Mirroring → choose your Roku.
Rotate your phone to landscape for the best view.

From an Android phone or Windows laptop:

On the Roku: Settings → System → Screen mirroring → Screen mirroring mode → Prompt (or Always allow).
On Android: pull down quick settings and tap Smart View, Cast, or Wireless display — the name varies by phone — and choose your Roku.
On Windows: press Win + K, choose your Roku.
Open the slideshow in your browser and press F for fullscreen.

Tip

Screen mirroring re-encodes the image, so you may notice slight quality loss. For the sharpest picture, plug a laptop into the TV with HDMI instead — see Older / non-smart TVs.

Apple TV

Easy

Apple TV uses AirPlay, which works directly with the slideshow page.

Apple TV and your iPhone, iPad, or Mac need to be on the same Wi-Fi network.
Open Photosgraph in Safari (Chrome on iOS doesn't always show AirPlay).
Open your album and tap Slideshow.
Open Control Center → Screen Mirroring → choose your Apple TV.
Rotate your phone to landscape for the best fit.

From a Mac: in Safari, click the AirPlay icon in the address bar, or use the AirPlay icon in the menu bar.

Chromecast / Google TV / Nest Hub

Easy

If your TV has Chromecast built in — most Vizio, Sony, and Hisense Google TV models, plus any TV with a Chromecast dongle — the simplest path is casting from Chrome.

On your laptop, open the slideshow page in Google Chrome.
Click the three-dot menu (top right) → Cast….
Choose your Chromecast or TV. Pick Cast tab as the source.
Once it's playing on the TV, press F in Chrome to go fullscreen — the TV mirrors it instantly.

From an Android phone: tap the cast icon in the Google Home app, pick your TV, mirror your screen, and open the slideshow. Or — if your TV has a browser — use TV mode; it's higher quality.

On a Google TV or Android TV: install a browser like Puffin or TV Bro from the Play Store, then use TV mode. No quality loss from mirroring.

Fire TV / Fire TV Stick

Easy

Fire TV ships with the Silk Browser built in (and Firefox is a free download). That means TV mode works perfectly:

On Fire TV, open Silk Browser — or install it free from the Appstore if it's not already there.
Go to https://photosgraph.com/tv.php
On your phone: open any album → Cast to TV → enter the code.

Prefer mirroring? Hold the Home button on your Fire TV remote → Mirroring → mirror an Android phone or Windows laptop. Newer Fire TV models (2nd gen Fire TV Stick 4K and Fire TV Cube) also support AirPlay from Apple devices.

Samsung Smart TV (Tizen)

Easy

Samsung TVs run Tizen and ship with a web browser. TV mode is the cleanest option:

Press the Home button on your remote → scroll right to apps → open Internet (the browser app).
Type https://photosgraph.com/tv.php into the address bar.
On your phone: open the album → Cast to TV → enter the code.

Alternative — AirPlay (most Samsung TVs from 2018 onward): turn it on in Settings → General → Apple AirPlay Settings, then mirror from your iPhone via Control Center.

Alternative — SmartThings: install the SmartThings app on Android to mirror your phone screen to the TV.

LG Smart TV (webOS)

Easy

LG TVs run webOS and have a built-in web browser:

Press the Home button → open Web Browser.
Visit https://photosgraph.com/tv.php
On your phone: open the album → Cast to TV → enter the code.

Alternative — AirPlay (most LG TVs from 2019 onward): open the AirPlay app from the home menu, then mirror from your iPhone or Mac.

Vizio, Sony, Hisense, TCL & others

Easy

Most modern smart TVs from Vizio (SmartCast), Sony (Google TV), Hisense, and TCL (Roku TV or Google TV) either include a web browser, Chromecast, or AirPlay support.

If your TV has a browser: use TV mode. Visit https://photosgraph.com/tv.php on the TV.
If it has Chromecast built in: see Chromecast / Google TV.
If it has AirPlay 2: follow the Apple TV instructions — same flow.
If it's a Roku TV: see the Roku section.

Older / non-smart TVs

Cable

Any TV with an HDMI input can show your slideshow — you just need a way to feed it.

Option 1: HDMI cable from a laptop (highest quality, no Wi-Fi needed)

Connect your laptop to the TV with an HDMI cable. Most modern laptops use USB-C, so you may need a USB-C-to-HDMI adapter.
Switch the TV to the HDMI input (your remote's Input or Source button).
Open the slideshow page in your browser and press F for fullscreen.

Option 2: HDMI cable from a phone

iPhone: use a Lightning-to-HDMI adapter, or USB-C-to-HDMI for newer iPhones.
Android: if your phone supports DisplayPort over USB-C, a USB-C-to-HDMI cable will work. Check your phone's specs to confirm — not all Android phones do.

Option 3: add smart capability for $30–50

Plug in a Chromecast with Google TV, Roku Streaming Stick, or Fire TV Stick. Then follow the matching section above.

Tips for a great display

Use higher-resolution photos. A 4K TV will show every flaw in a 720p photo. Photosgraph uses your originals when possible.
Pick the right TV picture mode. Most TVs default to "Vivid," which oversaturates skin tones and skies. Try Movie, Cinema, or Filmmaker Mode for more accurate colors.
Turn off motion smoothing. It's called MotionFlow on Sony, Auto Motion Plus on Samsung, TruMotion on LG. It makes Ken Burns effects look uncanny.
Dim the room. Photos look richer in soft light than in direct sunlight on the screen.
Slow it down for ambient viewing. 12 or 20 seconds per slide turns the slideshow into a quiet background. 5 or 8 seconds is better when people are gathered around to talk through the album.
Hide your phone screen. Once the slideshow is on the TV, you don't need to look at your phone — just use it as a remote. Your phone will dim on its own.

Troubleshooting

The pair code says "Invalid or expired"

Pair codes refresh after about ten minutes if they're not used. If yours has expired, just refresh the TV browser and a new code will appear. If you've already paired but want to switch albums, tap Cast to TV from a different album on your phone — the new album will replace the old one on the TV automatically.

The slideshow plays but some photos are missing

Photosgraph respects each person's tagging preferences. If a photo is tagged with someone whose privacy settings restrict that album, the photo is hidden — even on the TV. Photos still awaiting approval are also held back. Check the album for any pending approvals if you think something should be there.

My TV browser says the page won't load

Some older smart-TV browsers don't support modern web features. If TV mode doesn't work on your set, try:

Updating the TV's software (check the TV's settings menu).
Falling back to screen mirroring from your phone or laptop.
Plugging in a $30 streaming stick — Chromecast, Fire TV, or Roku — they all have much better browsers.

The picture looks fuzzy or low-resolution

Screen mirroring re-encodes the image and lowers quality. TV mode (the browser-based path) loads photos at full resolution, so it always looks better. Even sharper: an HDMI cable from a laptop bypasses Wi-Fi entirely.

I can't find the "Cast to TV" button

The button appears at the top of every album page, next to Slideshow. If you don't see it, refresh the page or check that you're signed in.

The phone remote stopped working

Pair sessions last eight hours. After that, the TV returns to the pair-code screen and you'll need to enter a fresh code. If your phone briefly loses Wi-Fi, the remote reconnects automatically when service is restored — the TV keeps playing in the meantime.

Still stuck?

Tell us what TV you have and what's not working — we'll help you figure it out.

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